Emily Isabella
22 // Emily Isabella is originally from rural Wisconsin but is currently based in Hudson Valley, New York. She studied Fibers at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, USA. Emily is inspired by daily life: ‘I might be influenced by an old children’s story on my bookshelf, maybe I see a pretty flower on the bank of a creek when I’m fly fishing, or maybe I get an idea in my dreams. Inspiration leads the way!’ Clients have included Birch Fabrics, Hygge & West Wallpaper, Target, and Back in the Day Bakery. Going forward, Emily plans to design more products under her brand name, in addition to collaborating with her furniture-designer husband, Paul Isabella. She would love to design home furnishings for children, and her dream commission would be to design a candy store.
Design Heroes: Franciszka Themerson, Mary Blair, Édouard Vuillard
Chutes and Tiles
This was an answer to a brief to design a series of ‘ethnic’ prints. Bold colours are set against a warm brown background, suggesting the feel of beads.
Painted Spots
For this print, Emily created texture with paint and then amplified that texture by layering.
Block Village
This print was designed for a print studio who wanted a series of Mary Blair–inspired house prints, but it was never used. All kinds of architecture is created from simple geometric shapes.